Hair treatments

ABSTRACT

Freshly shampooed hair dries faster when the shampoo is rinsed out with water containing a small amount of wetting agent, preferably a nonionic surfactant, which lowers the surface tension of the water. The effect is enhanced if the wetting agent is also included in either the water used to pre-wet the hair before applying the shampoo or in the shampoo itself.

United States Patent m1 Cassidy Y HAIR TREATMENTS [76] Inventor: HarryEugene Cassidy, 2310 Gall Ave., North St. Paul, Minn. 55109 3.155.591ll/l964 Hilfcr.... 424/70 3.563.901 2/l97l Crotty 252/l36 OTHERPUBLICATIONS Edward Sagarin Cosmetics [957 pgs. l030, and

[ June 4, 1974 532 and pg. 397. 393

Roher Scientific Modern Beauty Culture 1924 pg. 21 and 23 EdwardSagarin-Cosmetics-l957 pages 538-539, 1030, 532, 393 and 397 PrimaryExaminerG. E. McNeill Attorney, Agent, or FirmRichard E. Brink [57ABSTRACT Freshly shampooed hair dries faster when the shampoo is rinsedoutwith water containing a small amount of wetting agent, preferably anonionic surfactant, which lowers the surface tension ofthe water. Theeffect is enhanced if the wetting agent is also included in either thewater used to pre-wet the hair before applying the shampoo or in theshampoo itself.

5 Claims, No Drawings 1 HAIR TREATMENTS This invention relates to newhair treatments, and particularly to a new method or new methods forcleansing the hair of the human head. The invention also relates tocompositions which are new for this purpose. t

Teachings of the invention permit more rapid hair drying after a shampoothan has been possible by standard or customary practices heretofore.Thus, customers in a beauty salon may be processed more rapidly, withless time spent under a hair dryer, than customary heretofore. Underideal conditions, the time under a hair dryer may be reduced as much as50 percent, or possibly more (with consequent savings in power expenses,such as electricity for the dryer), by following the teachings hereof.

According to the invention, the hair of the human head is shampooed andrinsed so as to leave it with a substantially reduced water contentiascompared to that water content present under standardior customarypractices. The astonishing thing is thatthis highly advantageous resultis promoted'not by a teaching involving use of special drying agents inrinse water, but by a teaching involving use of a very small amount ofan organic wetting agent (surfactant) in the water. This would seem .tobe quite contrary to what one would normally expect as a treatment tospeed up the drying of human hair after a shampoo.'The normal orwellrecognized .characteristic of proteinaceousfibrous and ing is madepossible by teachings of the invention, espe-' cially the step ofrinsing with water containing a small quantity of an organic wettingagent. Instead of causing greater wetting of the head of hair, theapparent practical result of the procedures taught herein is that ofless effective total wetting than in normal practice, with a consequentreduction of thetime needed for drying, and with such incidental furtherbenefits as, for example, less tendency to snarl or tangle, a more silkyfeeling, and greater manageability. 1

Suitable wetting agents for use in practicing the invention are organicin character and are, at the limited concentrations employed,substantially soluble in water at practical shampoo and rinsetemperatures (e.g., from about C. or room temperature up to about 55C.or possibly as high as about 60C., but normally between about 40C. and55C.).

While improvement in the drying rate for the hair is achieved by addinga small quantity'of wetting agent to the rinse water, the degree ofimproved drying rate can vary dependent not only upon the specificwetting agent employed, but also upon other treatment factors.Surprisingly, the type of shampoo composition employed influences theability to achieve speedy drying. Heretofore, the hair treatmentindustry has normally desired shampoo compositions of greater andgreater wetting power and penetration for hair. Popular shampoocompositions currently available frequently contain special ingredientswhich increase wetting of the hair. Such shampoos may be usedpreliminarily to the special rinse step taught herein; and the-resultwill still be some shortening of the required time for the drying 'ofthe hair.

But for more pronounced shortening of the drying time, the shampoocomposition employed preliminarily to the rinse treatment taught hereinpreferably is a shampoo composition of relatively lower or reducedpenetrating or wetting quality for hair as-compared to the morepopularly accepted formulas for shampoo. The effective result is thatthe shampoo step is accomplished preferably with what might be calledminimum effective wetting and water penetration of the hair. Thepreferred shampoo step is thus analogous to an upholstery cleaningapproach. Nevertheless, contrary to popular theory, shampoos ofpreferred properties are entirelyeffecti ve to cleanse the hair, andadvantageously are more beneficial and kind to hair than popularconventional penetrating shampoo treatments.

Still'further, improvements in the drying time for the hair may berealized by not wetting dry hair with ordinary water as conventionallydone preliminarily to applying a shampoo composition, but'instead, byapplying, to the dry hair, a water composition consisting essentially ofwater to which a small quantity of organic wetting agent has beenadded.Such a preliminary treatment (involving. applying water to which awetting agent hasbeen added) before applying the shampoo composition,effectively reduces (instead of increases) water penetration of thehair, and thus contributes further to improvement in the dryingtimefollowing the rinse step of theinvention. Interestingly also,improvementin the drying time .is achieved when preferred shampoocompositions of the invention are pre-mixed with water and then appliedto dry hair not preliminarily wetted with water.

Another but optional treatment step for hair in practile organic solventin which a setting or holding ingre-v dient is dissolved. The volatilesolvent is preferably one readily miscible or soluble in water, as, forexample, an alcohol. Combined with the quick-drying setting lotion, orapplied to. the hair in a separate step as-a separate composition, maybe any of a variety of quick-drying hair conditioners, to improvereflective qualities, or softening or firming qualities or the like. Theconditioner ingredient also is preferably applied in a dissolved statein a volatile organic solvent such as an alcohol;

But probably the most widely hailed benefit of the invention will besimply that of the reduction of time required for processing both menand women through 7 for the thicker heads of hair. But in all cases, thetime normallyrequired for processing, particularly drying, can, in arelative sense, be reduced by practice of the invention; and it can bedrastically reduced, by up to 50 percent or even more, especially whenpreferred shamother'way, under substantially identical drying c'ondi-.tions (such as temperature, air movement, and air humidity), theaddition of wetting agent to the rinse water, preferably in combinationwiththe improved shampoo teachings hereof, reduces the time required forsubsequent drying of the hair as compared to the time required fordrying to an equivalent state (or equal degree of drying) after a rinsewith the same water but without the added wetting agent. i

The rinse water composition of the invention consists essentially ofrinse water (normally, ordinary tap water, but distilled water may beused) in which has been dissolved an organic wetting agent (surfactant)in the amount of at least about 3 parts by weight upto 500 parts orabout 1,000 parts (0.1 percent), or slightly more, per million parts ofwater. The amount of water soluble wetting agent added and substantiallyuniformly dispersed is preferably very small, usually below 500 partsper million of water, .and is never more'th an one percent byweight ofthe rinse water (10,000 parts per million). A quantity as high as aboutonepercent by weight of the rinse water is normally more than is needed,but sometimes can be useful. Generally, the quantity added'will rangefrom a fractional amount up to about a tenth of a percent by weight.Only as much as is needed to effect a reduction in surface tension astaught herein is employedythis is for the reason that larger quantitiesare unnecessary and cosmetically undesirable in' that theyleaveunnecessary and undesir-- able quantities of residue on the hair,without any redeeming value for the extra residue. Very small additionsare completely effective for practice of the invention; and the slighttrace residue left in dried hair is harmless. very little remains in thehair since the effect of the addition is to cause the water to run-offor sheet 'off the hair, carrying with it a proportional amount ofwithout the addition, up to a reduction as great as '40 percent or 50percent, or even possibly as great as 70 percent, below the value forthe water ordinarily employed without the addition.

The reason for stating the reduction in terms of a percent reductionbelow the value for water without the addition is because differentpersons operating a testing machine, or forthat matter, different testmachines, can provide different absolute values (in dynes percentimeter, usually at a set temperature such as 25C.) for the samefluid. For example, the value for a water sample at 25C. may bedetermined to be 72 or 76 dynes per centimeter, or any other figureapproximately within that range. But percent reduction figures from thevalue for any water sample. without the addition Anionic and cationic aswell as nonionic wetting agents can be useful in practicing theinvention; but by far the most preferred are the nonionic wettingagents. Furtherjthese wetting agents contain an organic radical or.portion as a part of the total molecule thereof. Hydrophillic .organicradicals are most preferred. In short, nonionic wetting-agents arerecommended. The wetting agent preferably does not chemically react withthe hair; it is preferably inert tothe hair. Truly toxic wetting agentsshould be avoided; but none seem to be toxic. Further, the concept oftoxicity is a relative one and depends in no small measure upon thespecial scalp properties or allergenic characteristics of individualpersons. Also, the exceedingly small quantity of wetting agent requiredpermits an extra-ordinarily broad selection of effective wetting agentswithout encountering any toxicity problems; and none have beenencountered in a' multitude of tests with different wetting agents andwith different individuals having a variety of hair and scalpcharacteristics. Also, wettingagents in the minute amounts employed havebeen found to be substantially odorless, which is desirable. In a verypractical sense, the minute quantity of wetting agentv present. in thetreatment renders pl-l considerations unimportant. The small qu'antityof wetting agent does not greatly affect the pH of ordinary tap water asused in rinses heretofore. I

Addition of the organic wetting agent to the rinse water is accomplishedbefore the. water is appliedto the the water. Alternately, a drop or twoof wetting agent can be added to a vessel containing afew gallons ofrinse water. It isquite suitable, and preferable, to first dilute thewetting agent with water (for example, to a concentration between about5 and percent by weight) before metering the diluted wetting agent intothe water; Water soluble wetting agents which are solid (asdistinguished from liquid) at selected rinse temperatures may be'addedconveniently to, and dissolved in, the rinse water. For'example, one mayplace a cake of the solid material in the spray nozzle head of a shampoorinse apparatus. Where this is contemplated, the rate of solubility forthe selected wetting agent may be adjusted by forming the cake so thatthe wetting agent is dispersed in-an inert binder material, therebyreducing the rate at which the effective ingredient, i.e., the

v cause foaming or unnecessarydetergent action or such substantialalteration of the rinse water as to make it no longer an effectiverinse. Further, for most dramatic improvement in drying time following arinse, the quantity of the rinse water composition worked through thehair is just sufficient to remove the shampoo lather or suds. Thus,application of the rinse water composition is preferably terminatedpromptly after the suds of the shampoo step are removed.

More than one type of wetting agent may be included in the rinse water;and this is illustrated by employing mixtures including nonionic and,for example, a cationic, wetting agent. Also very minor amounts (e.g.,up to about 1 percent, or possibly 2 percent by weight, based ontheweight of the water) of other water soluble ingredients such as, forexample, alcohol (e.g., isopropyl alcohol), urea, phosphates, and avariety of other soluble ingredients normally inert to the wetting agent--'may be included, if desired.

A multitude of water soluble organic wetting agents or surfactants areavailable commercially and are useful in practicing the invention.Wetting agents which are liquid or solid at room temperature are useful.An illustrative liquid one is nonylphenoxypoly (ethyleneoxy) ethanol.Many other useful polyalkenoxy (polyethenoxy)'nonionic compounds areknown. Note, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,674,619, in which oxyethylatedpolyoxypropylene glycols, available commercially as Pluronics," aredescribed; and U.S. Pat. 'No. 2,856,434, in which benzyl ethers ofalkylphenoxy polyethoxyethanols, available commercially as Tritons," aredescribed. Water soluble'aliphatic polyether compounds, especiallystraight chain ones (available commercially as Antarox, characterized aslowfoaming and biodegradable) are useful nonionics. Useful also are thevariety of commercially available nonionic wetting agents at column 3 ofU.S. Pat. No. 3,563,901. An illustrative solid cake wetting agent may beformed by cooling in molds a melted mixture (about 45C.) of percent byweight Antarox BL 330 (a water-woluble aliphatic polyether, from GeneralAniline and Film Corporation), 45 percent by weight Armid C (a fatty waxsoluble in water, from Armour Company), and 45 percent tetrasodiumpyrophosphate. Still other useful wetting agents are isopropylnaphthalene sodium sulfonate and sodium lauryl sulfonate. Esters ofsugars and fatty acids (U.S., Pat. No. 3,481,881) offer further optionsfor the wetting agent addition. Thus, the variety of possible organicwetting agent additions is not only extremely broad, but seems unlimitedand will also grow as new organic wetting agent compositions aredeveloped and made available.

The essential point is not the chemical molecule or structure ofaselected wetting agent, but the fact of the addition to water for hairtreatment, and the resulting achievement of the benefits taught herein.The fractional addition of any specific wetting agent is within therange specified hereinabove, and most preferably is no more thannecessary to achieve a surface tension reduction between 5 percent and40 percent. For example, between about 5 and L000 parts by weight ofadded wetting agent (aliphatic polyether such as Antarox LF344) permillion of water effectively reduced the surface tension of tap water towhich it was added, from an addition-free reading (as determined by theoperator in this test) of 76 dynes per centimeter, to a reading of about72 for the lowest addition down to about 52 for the highest a percentagereduction range from about 5 percent down to about 33 percent. Benefitsof the invention were achieved throughout the noted range of addition,with surprisingly .little difference in terms of the improvement indrying time from the smallest to the largest addition.

In other words, the teaching of this invention is one where a criticallylower limit of added wetting agent gives noticeable and even dramaticimprovement; and further improvement of drying time is not trulydirectly proportional to increased quantity of the added wetting agent.In fact, practical benefits of the invention are lost by excessivewetting agent additions beyond those for the surface tension reductionsspecified. As emphasized above, the improvement of the invention is thatof an improvement in drying time over that experiencedunder otherwiseidentical conditions except for the special addition of wetting agent tothe rinse water.

'Even the most modest additions according to the invention will normallygive at least about a 5 or 10 percent decrease in relative drying time,and frequently more, with greater and greaterreduction of the dryingtime as the preliminary steps prior to the rinse step are adjusted.

The improvement or decrease in drying time is improved when preferredshampoo formulations are employed. Useful shampoo compositions maycontain a variety of water soluble or miscible ingredients; and this isalso true for shampoo compositions commercially available. A basiccomponent'of all shampoos is a water soluble detergent or saponificationproduct. Lather-forming properties are desired by custom. Preferredshampoo compositions include a detergent compound having a hydrophilicpart (e.g., a hydrophilic radical'or element) and an organophilic part(e.g., an organophillic radical which frequently may-also exhibithydrophobic properties, but not always). Water is a frequent butoptional component of most useful shampoo compositions of the inventionas they are sold in commerce. Of course, water is always present as acomponent during a shampooing step, whether separately added to the hairor premixed with the shampoo composition to form a shampooing mixturefor shampooing use. The pH for shampoo compositions, preferably, ofcourse, will be within the range of 2.5 to l0 or 1 l. The most preferredshampoo compositions contain heavy large molecules and are relativelythick in consistency during the latheringaction of the shampoo step. I

An especially preferred shampoo composition consists essentially of awater diluted fatty acid alkanolamide. The resulting product of reactionbetween lauric acid and diethanolamine is an illustrative useful fattyacid dialkanolamide, and is available commercially as 207-CGN fromClintwood Chemical Company of Chicago, Ill. It has been heretoforerecommended as a suds stabilizer, but is very effective as a sudsproducer. Further, it is relatively easily dissolved or dispersed inwater even at room temperature, thus rendering it unnecessary to heatthe water to achieve a practical solution in manufacturing thewater-containing shampoo composition. Concentrations of it between about10 percent and 80 percent (preferably between 25 percent and percent) byweight in water provide shampoo compositions which foam and provide thenecessary detergency and low wetting and low penetration at the time ofadding the composition to tap water to form a shampooing mixture.(Normally, about one part by weight of the water-containing shampoocomposition itself will be added to up to about seven parts waterinconducting a shampoo but this can vary greatly according to the wishesof an operator).

An illustrative preferred shampoo formula, by weight, is 42 parts of theaforenoted 207-CGN, and

1.5 parts 200-0" from Clintwood Chemical Company (a diethanol amide ofoleic acid), dissolved or dispersed in 56.5 parts water. Anotherillustrative formula is, by weight, l2 parts 207-CGN and 23 parts'sodiumdodecyl'benzene sulfonate dissolved in 65 parts water. Another is 25parts Miranol 5 M (22 water soluble dicarboxylate product with capricacid fat radicals), l part preservative such as sodium benzoate, and 74parts water. Still another, although less preferred, is parts sodiumlauryl sulfate, 0.5 parts carboxymethyl cellulose, 10 parts isopropylalcohoLand 2 parts sodium sulfate dissolved in 77.5 parts water byweight.

Shampoo compositions may contain a variety of ingredients; but theimportant preferred feature is that of a relatively thick or heavy typelather whichlacks the high penetration and high wetting power socharacteristic of standard popular shampoo compositions. A

stery cleaner. Detergent type products, as distinguished fromsaponifi'cation type products, are-preferred for shampoo.

lt is standard practice in conducting ashampoo to first wet the hair byapplying ordinary water to it before applying a shampoo composition andworking it to achieve lather formation. Such preliminary wetting orwater treatment of the hair may be employed in .practicing thisinvention; however, it is preferable to employ water to which has beenadded an organic wetting agent, and to spray (and thus sheet) the hairwith the same. Spray application results in minimum but adequate waterretention between strandsof the hair. in short, the water treatment forthe hair, preliminary to the application of shampoo'composition,preferably is accomplished by spraying a water composition whichconsists essentially of water to which has been added a small quantityof organic wetting agent. The description forthe rinse water compositionhereinabove set forth is also applicable for this water treatment orspray composition to be applied to the hair preliminary to applicationof the shampoo composition. However, the quantity of wetting agent,while very limited in the rinse water composition (and suitably solimited in this water treatment composition") may be considerablygreater in this water treatment composition. The quantity mayapproach afigure as great as 10 or even percent by weight of the water treatmentcomposition. although larger quantities beyond the maximum permitted forthe rinse water composition are unnecessary. Of primary significance isthe fact that a water treatment composition (i.e;., water containingorganic wetting agent) applied to dry or substantially dry hair (i.e.,hair under ordinary atmospheric dryness condition) further contributesto a reduction of the practical total wetness of the hair as it iscleansed during the shampoo and spe- .8 explanation, it is by employingwater containing an added organic wetting agent, especially in the rinsestep, that the results taught herein are made possible withoutsacrificing effective cleansing of the hair.

Preliminary application of water to the hair before applying a shampoocomposition, however, is unnecessary. The most outstanding improvementin speed of ment step, with organic wetting agent dissolved in thewater, prior to. application of a preferred shampoo formula hereof tothe hair. A further decrease in improvementcomes when standard shampoosof commerce replace the preferred shampoos of the invention after apreliminary water treatment step involving the application of watercontaining an organic wetting agent to dry hair. An even greaterdecrease but still notable improvement has been observed when prior artstandard shampoos of commerce are premixed with water containing anadded organic wetting agent and then ap-' plied to the dry hair. Theseand still other modifications of the technique for the shampoo step orsteps before the required special rinse step of the invention may, beemployed to achieve the benefit (although varying in extent) of animprovement in drying time as taught herein. 3 i

After the rinse following a shampoo, the hair is preferably butoptionally treated with a quick-drying setting lotion suitably alsocontaining a waxy conditioner. lllustratively, such a setting lotioncomposition may contain, by weight, about l-lO parts of anorganicsolvent-soluble organic resin as a setting agent or 'holder(e.g., 3 parts polyvinylpyrrolidone), suitably about 0 to 10 parts ofawax or waxy binder or non-' tackifying plasticizer for the organicresin and optionally also a conditioner for the hair (e.g., 0.95part"Gaffanol, a waxy plasticizer for polyvinylpyrrolidone),

from 0 to 1 part of any suitable preservative or antioxidant (e.g., 0.2part Methylparaben, 0.1 part Propylparaben), about 20 to 97 parts of analcohol or equivalent volatile organic solvent for the resin andplasticizer (e.g., parts denatured alcohol) and from 0-70 parts water(e.g., about 35 parts water), plus any optional but nominal or smallamount of perfumes, color tint ingredients, and the like. Theorganic-solventsoluble organic resin is preferably also water soluble,and is non-tacky inthe dried or solvent-free state at least at roomtemperature, preferably also at somewhat elevated temperatures suchasthose as high as 35 or 40C. The quick-drying lotion further enhancesthe speed of hair treatment and grooming made possible by the invention.Also, balsam or wax-yfatty acid compounds in denatured alcoholoptionally may be included as a conditioner treatment applied to thehair to improve reflective qualities and lustre.

A variety of other hair treatment steps may be interspersed amongst oradded to those taught herein; but the most preferred sequence is toconduct the rinse step immediately after the shampoo operation.

That which is claimed is:

1. In the method of treating hair on the human head comprising the stepsof applying to the hair a cleaning composition comprising water 'and asubstantially water-soluble lather-forming shampoo and thereafterremoving the shampoo from the hair by applying rinse water thereto,

the improvement which comprises incorporating in the rinse water 3-l,000ppm of a water-soluble organic wetting agent, sufficient to reduce thesurface tension 5 percent to 70 percent below that of v V the rinsewater without said wetting agent,

whereby, under substantially identical drying conditions, the rinsedhair dried faster than if the rinse water does not contain said wettingagent. 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the concentration of the wettingagent in the rinse water does not exceed 500 ppm and the surface tensionreduction does not ex-' to 70 percent.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the concentration of the wetting agentin the rinse water does not exceed 500 ppm and the surface tensionreduction does not exceed 50 percent.
 3. The method of claim 1 whereinthe wetting agent is nonionic.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein, priorto applying the cleaning composition, the hair is pre-wet with watercontaining 3-1,000 ppm of surface tension-lowering water-soluble organicwetting agent.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein there is incorporated inthe cleaning composition sufficient water-soluble organic wetting agentto lower the surface tension of the water present in said compositionabout 5 to 70 percent.